


Set Fire to the Bones

by Chibifukurou, dear_monday



Category: Bandom, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Cannibalism, Gen, Genderqueer Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-15 15:29:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2234112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibifukurou/pseuds/Chibifukurou, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dear_monday/pseuds/dear_monday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poison is one of the Desert Goddess' Angels of Death  tasked with caring the bodies of deceased Runners. Zhey have served her faithfully for centuries.</p><p>Until zhey stumble across a runner that isn't dead and everything starts to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Set Fire to the Bones

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: A big thank you to ivory-gates' help with betaing this story. All remaining mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Dear_Monday was kind enough to make all the amazing art you see within the story
> 
>  
> 
> I use a couple different versions of Non-binary pronouns in this and I know it can get a little confusing so I'm going to go ahead and post a legend of pronouns in this note.
> 
> Poison uses Zhey, Zhem and Zheir  
> Ghoul, Kobra, and Korse use: he, him, and his  
> Phoenix uses Fae, Faer, and Faers  
> Destroya is referred to with she, her, and hers pronouns  
> Before and when people's preferences aren't know I try to use they, them and their. That being said this is my first time writing a fic in this manner so there are probably going to going to be some times when I screw this up.
> 
> I'm non-binary myself, but don't claim to understand the full range of experiences. If you find something in this story that triggers you please let me know and I will do make sure the tags are updated. Thanks, and happy reading.

 

Chapter 1

~*/Poison\\*~

A red sun hangs over the Western Horizon. It turns the sand red as far as Poison can see. It is almost ten miles to the border where zheir territory meets with zheir brother Kobra's territory.

Poison scans the desert, looking for any sign of disturbance. If Destroya has painted the sun red, that can only mean one thing. Runner blood was spilled today.

There is no sign of battle in the western half of zheir territory. With a soft huff of breath zhey turn to face the eastern half of zheir territory. A pale white smudge rises up to spear the sky, just at the edge of Poison's territory. The city of Blind is Korse's territory. 

Poison's teeth clack together in annoyance. Just the thought of Korse sets zhem on edge. Zheir claws come out, and zheir black and white speckled wings rise in preparation for battle. 

Korse is a Bone Eater like Poison. They were lovers for a time. Back before Korse betrayed the desert goddess, Destroya. It makes sense that a fight inside Poison's territory would take place near the city. Korse' raids on runner camps had been getting more daring over the last few yars.

Looking away from the City, Poison searches the sand. Zhey find the disturbance about three miles from the rocky outcropping that forms the base of Poison's nest. Poison can make out the shadows of fallen bodies.

Clacking zheir teeth again, Poison considers flying off immediately. Better to get it over with. Only…

Zhey reach a clawed hand up to rake through zheir hair. It is limp and pale, hanging in front of zheir face in clumps. It is not befitting of one of Destroya's Angels of Death.

No matter how little Poison wants to leave zheir nest and get closer to the city, duty must come first. As an angel of Death zhey mustn't go unadorned to gather the bodies of Destroya's fallen runners. Destroya and her people are the living embodiments of color and fire strong enough to burn the world to ash and sand. 

Poison flies to the edge of zheir nest, to where a spring bubbles up through the rocks and dampens the soil to form a deep red clay. Zhey dig zheir fingers deep into the mud. Clumps of blood red clay fill zheir hands. Zhey coat zheir hair until it rises up to form a blood red crown. Red runes mark zheir neck and bare chest. 

It is time.

Reaching towards the sky, Poison's wings flap once, twice, and soar into the air. Zhey wheel through the air kept aloft by the thermal winds that rise off the desert. Spiraling ever outward, until zhey catch a gust that sends zhem east, towards the fallen runners.

The scent of drying blood fills Poison's nose as zhey begins descending back to earth. Down and down zhey dip, until zheir feet touch hard packed sand. Just ahead, the sand is darker, stained by spilled blood. Now that Poison is close enough to get a good look at the battle scene, zhey can pick up out the difference between the fallen bodies. It isn't just Runners; there are Blind City scouts here as well. Dressed in white cloaks. The red painted mouths and black rimmed eyes painted onto their masks terrifyingly blank even after death.

Turning away from them, Poison concentrates on the dead runners. The Runners keep their faces covered as well. But the coverings are not meant to terrify like the city scouts. The face coverings vary from runner to runner. The three dead runners all have some variation of musical notation worked into zheir masks.

They are members of the Death Defying Clan. A clan that is located just over the southern border of Poison's territory. Poison doesn't know enough about them to offer any personal hymns.

Poison raises zheir voice in a song of longing and loss, and new beginnings. A nearby outcropping of sandstone will act as a proper marker for the runner's grave. 

When the song ends, Poison goes over to the outcropping and kneels down to sink hands into the sand. Destroya's power moves through Poison. Three holes open up in the sand, the sides shifting as the desert moves around them.

Going back to the runners, Poison lifts the first body up and carries it back to the graves. Tucking the body into the hole, fingers clasped over their chest in a sign of prayer. 

Before calling the sand to cover the body, Poison removes the mask and places it in a deep crevice in the outcropping. A sign of this runner's eternal resting spot. 

Zhey follow the same ritual with the second body, before returning for the third. It's only when Poison picks it up that zhey realizes something is wrong.

They are still breathing. But that should be impossible. Destroya didn't call her Bone eaters out to help living runners. Death Angels are carrion creatures, usually referred to as Bone Eaters by the runners. In fact before finding a living runner, Poison's plans for the evening include feasting on the bones of the city scouts.

If this runner is still alive Destroya should have called a priest from one of the nearby runner clans, not Poison. So what does she expect Poison to do? 

At a loss, Poison lays the runner on their back and begins to unwind the strips of green and purple fabric that make up zheir mask. The face revealed is captivating. Black hair, narrow nose and strong chin. A mouth made for smirking.

When Poison cups a hand over zheir mouth, zhey can feel the damp air from zheir breath. It flows steadily in and out. A long knife wound bisects zheir stomach, but there aren't any other life-threatening injury. No sign that zhey are near enough to death to need Poison to administer final rites.

Poison hums in the back of zheir throat, and reaches out for the bone-deep awareness of the desert and her whims. There is no pull telling zhem to what to do.

Only the uppermost edge of the sun remains above the horizon. Soon the temperature will plummet. Poison picks up the runner's limp body. If Destroya brought them together, then it only makes sense for Poison to keep them close. Zhey will carry them back to the nest.

Then…zheir teeth peel back from needle sharp teeth. Then Poison will come back and collect the scouts' bodies so zhey can feast. 

~*/Ghoul\\*~

The touch of cool wind against his bare cheeks wakes Ghoul. Dim light filters through his closed eyelids. It must be night. A stabbing pain spreads from his chest where the city's scout had slashed him.

None of this made sense. The last thing he remembers is falling unconscious. his fellow runners dead in the sand around him. Ghouls shouldn't be feeling any pain or hearing... What is he hearing? It's like the sound of desert scrub crackling in a campfire. 

Turning his head towards the sound, he tries to ungum his eyelids. Vision blurry, all he can make out is two dark lumpy things rising up against the star-studded sky.

Ghoul's hands scrabble against the rock shelf he's laying on, blunt fingernails doing little to gain purchase. Giving up, he rolls to his side. It feels like he's being torn open. With a gasp, he falls onto his stomach. A stone skitters away. he freezes, but it's too late. The cracking noises have stopped.

His vision is still blurry, but the lumpy things are moving. his eyes glued to every twitch. Which is why he notices when zhey rise high enough to show a pair of feet covered in skin as pale as moonshine. The ragged hems of a pair of black pants hang just above bony ankles. Ghoul's eyes jerk up to meet amber eyes that glow like hot coals. Blood drips from its chin. Ghoul's eyes jerk to the black lumpy things he hadn't been able to identify before. he knows what zhey are now. Wings. He's laying barely five feet from a freacking Bone Eater. 

Its mouth opens to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. "You shouldn't move around. I wrapped your wound but you need to stay still."

"What's it matter if you're just going to eat me anyway?"

"Eat you?" The Bone Eater's head tilted. "Why would I eat you? You're one of Destroya's faithful children."

Ghoul doesn't know how to reply. Twelve years since he left the City. He's heard legends about the Bone Eaters. How zhey feed on the desert's dead, making sure there are never any bodies for the runners to bury.

"Corpse-stealer," Ghoul hisses. 

It leans down until it is near enough Ghoul can smell his breath. Rancid meat and bone dust. "So angry. Why, when serve Destroya just as you do?"

Ghoul considers spitting at its feet but swallows back the urge. he can't afford the moisture loss. Not for something so pointless. No need to make it want to hurry up and kill him. "Why shouldn't I hate you? You ate my friends." 

"I didn't eat them!" It jerks back, its wings flaring up. "I'm not like Korse. I don't feed on Destroya's children. Only on bandits and betrayers."

Unbelievable. As though runners haven't been disappearing from this area of the desert for years. Ghoul bit back the urge to keep arguing. he needs to change the subject before he gets himself eaten. "So what do I call you?"

It settles back on its heels. Wiping its mouth with the back of one hand. Like Ghoul can't see the blood caked under its claws. "I'm Poison. My preferred pronouns are Zhey, Zhem, and Zheir. And you?"

Ghoul blinks. He hadn't thought of Bone Eaters as having names or genders. He'd always thought of them as beasts. No different than the great cats that hunt in the hills near the Death Defiers clan. "I'm Ghoul…he, him, and his."

Poison smiles. A terrifying expression. "Well then, Ghoul, I suggest you go back to sleep. It will help you heal more quickly."

Ghoul nods. Even if Poison is capable of thinking and reasoning like a human, that doesn't make zhem any less dangerous. It just means that Ghoul needs to plan out his escape attempt better. He folds his arms and rests his head on them. Closing his eyes in feigned sleep, he listens. Waiting for a chance to escape.

There is the shuffling of feet and the sound of feathers brushing against stone. Then the cracking sounds startup again. The noise sends shivers up Ghoul's spine, now that he knows what they are. It's the sound of bones cracking and being eaten.

Bile rises in Ghoul's throat, and he has to swallow hard to keep it down. He's laying here trying to sleep while a monster eats his friends' bones. Does that make him a monster too? If so, what should he do? Injured and unarmed against an inhuman opponent, there is nothing he can do. That doesn't stop the guilt from gnawing at him. He tosses and turns, but he can't fall asleep. Every time he closes his eyes, and Ghoul is back staring at the blank eyes of his friends, waiting for death to claim him. 

Finally, he gives it up as a hopeless case. Cracking an eye open, he stares at the shifting feathers of the Eater's wings. The crunching sounds echo through Ghoul's skull, daring him to do something.

Ghoul's never been good at controlling his impulses. He's moving before he makes up his mind to interfere. There is a nearby grouping of rocks. Ghoul times his movements to the sound of the Eater's movements. The rock he picks up is almost as big as his head. In his weakened condition, it takes two hands to pick the rock up. He staggers under the weight, moving as quietly as he can. 

Poison's wings tense and freeze when Ghoul gets within a few feet. Ghoul stops moving as well. The sound of distant cicada song fills the tense silence. 

A few breaths and Poison still isn't moving. Ghoul lashes out, throwing a rock with all his might. Poison moves, shooting up into the air. The rock glances off zheir leg, before falling onto the rocky ground with a dull thump. 

Without Poison's bulk to block his sight, Ghoul can see the corpse zhey were feeding on. Its chest is clawed open. Bits of bone scattered about. The red blood is stark against the white clothes that cover part of the body. So Poison had been telling the truth. Zhey was feasting on City scouts.

Despite the hatred Ghoul had for the scouts, pity won out. He stumbled on shaking legs to escape, throwing up bile that stung his cracked lips. When he was able to force himself to stop vomiting and look up, Poison was crouched over the body like some macabre demon.

"Why?" Ghoul gasps.

Poison tilts zheir head. "They are food. Do you think it would be better if I left their bodies out in the desert for coyotes and lizards to eat?"

Ghoul stumbles back. Poison looks human aside from zheir teeth and wings. But whatever Destroya's goal when she made the Eaters, it wasn't to make them like humans.

He claws his way up the rocky wall that surrounds the shallow ravine they are standing in. When he gets to the top, there is a sheer cliff that stretches around until it curves out of sight. There is nowhere for him to run. Poison lands next to him with the sound of wind whistling through zheir feathers. Zheir feet barely make any noise as they hit the stone. "You should come back down and try to get some sleep. Dawn is in a few hours, and you are still injured." Despite the suggestion, Poison doesn't try to drag him back down off the rocky ledge. There are rustling sounds behind Ghoul, and then Poison flies past, a lumpy form in zheir arms. 

With Poison and the corpse gone, it is easier for Ghoul to climb back down. It takes forever for him to fall asleep and even when he does, his sleep is haunted by the smell of death. 

Chapter 2

~*/Poison\\*~

Poison faces the rising sun; eyes closed. The heat on zheir face and the red light that filters through zheir closed eyelids is as close to paradise as anything Poison will ever experience.

Zheir mind is still back at the nest, with Ghoul. Poison hasn't ever considered what zheir feeding might look like to a human. Even worshipping the sun and focusing on Destroya's will isn't enough to wipe out the nagging memory of Ghoul's horrified face. 

It has only taken Poison a night to start dreaming about the possibilities that having an Avatar could give zhey. Kobra has been so much happier in the years sincezheir Avatar, Phoenix, had come to be with zhem. Was it so bad that Poison had begun to hope for a similar life of having someone to spend zheir life with? And maybe even a tribe of zheir own to watch over?

Surely Destroya couldn't blame zhem for hoping when she arranged for Ghoul and Poison's paths to cross.

When the sun is a finger's width above the horizon, Poison finishes zheir worship and turns back to the task of covering up the remains of the City Scout's body. Unlike when Poison buries the runners, Destroya doesn't lend her power to burying the city's children. It takes a good hour before Poison is finished and able to return to the nest.

When zhey get there, Ghoul has taken shelter in the shadow of one of the bigger rocks. He is dozing fitfully and even the soft sound of Poison's landing is enough to jolt him awake. He jerks upright, eyes wide enough that Poison can see the whites all around. Poison stays still until Ghoul relaxes. Ghoul still keeps a wary eye on zhem, but at least Poison doesn't have to worry about him collapsing from fright. "Did you have a good rest?"

Shrugging, Ghoul rubs a hand over his abdomen,wherehere the bandages are wrapped around his wound. "Well enough."

"I should clean your wound, and then I'll need to go for patrol."

"You don't need to clean my wound," Ghoul snaps back.

"It can't stay covered. It will go bad." Poison reaches out for Ghoul's tunic.

Ghoul jerks back. "You can just drop me back with my clan. Then it won't be your problem." 

Poison doesn't even stop to think about it. "No."

"Why not?" 

There was no way to answer that without having to think further about zheir half-formed dreams of a future together with Ghoul.

"I'll let the cleaning go for now. But we'll have to deal with it when I get back from patrolling."

Ghoul sticks his chin out mulishly. Poison has no doubt that there will be a fight when zhey gets back. But there isn't any point worrying about it now. 

"So you're just going to leave me here, to starve?"

That stopped Poison's thoughts. Zhey hadn't considered what to do with Ghoul while zhey went on patrol. He's right of course. There is barely any shade or water in the uppermost level of the nest. And only a few lizards dare to come to an area that smells so strongly of Poison and corpses. So there wouldn't be anything for Ghoul to eat either.

"I guess I'll need to carry you down to the caves."

"Like, hell. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Poison narrows zheir eyes. Ghoul is still favoring his wounded chest. It isn't as if he'll be able to keep Poison from grabbing him. "You can't stay up here, and I need to get going."

"Then let me go." Ghoul stamps his foot and then teeters as the jolt puts him off balance. 

Poison uses zheir wings to speed forward and get zheir arms around Ghoul before he can fall. Then, since it will keep zher from having to argue more, zhey pulls Ghoul up and off his feet. Taking off into the air. 

The entrance to the cave is a good twelve feet down from the top of the outcropping. The ledge that Poison lands on is barely wide enough to provide a safe landing spot. Even with practice, Poison's wings scrape against the rocky wall. Ghoul almost tips them over the edge, struggling to escape. 

Poison is forced to drop him in order to stay upright. Ghoul hisses like an angry cat, shoulders. bunching up around his ears and eyes crackling. "How dare you!" he starts. 

Poison cuts him off before he can finish, kicking back and away, letting zheir wings catch zhem and guide zhem aloft. "I'll catch you something for dinner and be back before dark," zhey calls as zhey flaps zheir wings and glides away.

~*/Ghoul\\*~

The caves are blessedly cool. Not much freer then the opening at the top of this outcropping. It only takes one glance over the edge of the cave’s opening to prove Poison’s point about it not being safe for Ghoul to go climbing around with his injuries. A forty foot sheer drop would take his climbing abilities on a good day. 

With a barely patched up hole in his abdomen, it would be one hell of a painful way to commit suicide. “Bake it!” He allows himself to curse once he has watched long enough to see Poison become little more than a black speck on the horizon.

Stuck in a cave with barely any light in the middle of the desert, without a way out, or anybody else to see for miles. Ghoul is well and truly trapped both by his refusal to trust Poison and the sheer impossibility of surviving the desert on his own.

He can still vividly remember the feel of chapped lips and barely breathing that he’d suffered through when he’d been a young city-kid with more spine then sense who’d run away from home to join the desert people.

Finally, he gives up staring across the open landscape waiting for Poison to get back. A splash in cool water sounds good, and he needs a drink if the water looks safe.

He doesn’t remember drinking anything since the fight with the city scouts. As out of it as he was after the fight, it is likely Poison gave him water or some painkilling potion, but his throat is scratchy, and the thought of water is enough to overrule the paranoia that is keeping him twitchy. 

Deeper into the cave it gets a little lighter. Thin dustmote-filled beams of light come through cracks in the wall and ceiling of the tunnel. It is still barely light enough to be called twilight, but the light allows Ghoul to explore the cave without tripping over every bit of loose rock on the path.

He follows the tunnel all the way back until he finds the pool Poison mentioned. It is in a large room, three times wider across than he is tall. The pool gives off a phosphorescent glow that comes from algae and lichens at the bottom. It is pretty and soothing. He moves around the edge until he finds a spot filled with water growing plants, their roots working to purify any impurities from the water. It isn’t as safe as boiling it, but he doesn’t have matches, or any means to catch the water and heat it. So he finds an area next to one of the plants he knows is very good at purifying water, and he drinks long and deep. He moves to the other side of the lake to rinse off the dirt and dried blood that mats his hair and makes his shirt stick to his chest.

Clean, he decides to go exploring. Poison hasn’t come back yet, and he’s done what Poison asked and cleaned up. There isn’t much else that Poison can expect of him except to explore.

And if Poison gets made, then Ghoul feels confident that he can put Poison in zheir place. Leaving a human in a virtual treasure chest of possibilities that give rise to all sorts of questions: what else could the guardian expect?

Ghoul makes his way back towards the front of the cave system by way of sorting through all of the smaller caves that branch off of the central tunnel. Most of them are only big enough for Ghoul to stick his head in and look around before he is pulling back and moving on, looking for a place that doesn’t make his already bad anxiety from being underground worse, by being closed in on all sides.

Halfway back to the main tunnel, he finds something. At first he barely notices. The space he sticks his head into is so narrow and dim that he almost can’t make out the far wall. Or more importantly the gap in that wall. It is thin and makes his skin go clammy and his heart pound badly enough to make his would ache, but once he’s seen the doorway he can’t make himself turn back. Instead, he slips inside the narrow room and down the hallway. For the first few steps, he has to walk sideways to get through. It isn’t narrow as long as he walks that way, and he suspects that the added width is made to accommodate big black wings. 

Not long after, the tunnel widens out. The next few minutes are easier. The cracked sections are fewer, and the light is closer to nighttime than twilight, but this area is swept clean and smells faintly of funerary spices.

When Ghoul gets through the last part of the tunnel and into the room that is at the end of it, he freezes. It doesn’t take long [for him?] to unfreeze. His subconscious must have put it together even if he hadn't consciously realized what was going on. 

Skulls are carefully arranged on rock shelves around the edge of the room. There are bits of clothing and scraps of paper surrounding each one. 

No signs of any other body parts or personal effects, but there doesn’t need to be. This is creepy enough with the eyes of more than a hundred skulls staring out at him. He’s in a graveyard and being kept prisoner by these people’s murderer. There isn’t any calming down from that. So instead he tosses dirt over the sick and curls into a ball against the opposite corner and waits for Poison to come back and kill him. 

He doesn’t even have his boot knife anymore, and he’s hurt bad enough that the only way he’s capable of fighting back right now is by making it so that Poison can’t keep playing his sick game of caring for Ghoul.

No, they're going to have things out. And then Ghoul is going to die.

Desperation sends him digging through the discarded items that the Guardian had left heaped in the corner.

No weapons of real substance, but he is able to dig up a few knives. Enough that he'll take a piece of the Guardian with him when he dies and goes to the Destroya's Oasis. 

Once Ghoul is sure that there is nothing left to salvage in the boneyard, he heads back through the narrow tunnel to the large cavern with a pool. It's where Poison will expect him to be, and it means that Ghoul will have the best chance at succeeding in a surprise attack.

He swims out to one of the little sandbars towards the center of a shallow pool. Settling down, he lets himself fall into a trance. Ghoul concentrates all his attention on his hearing, until every drip from the stalactites sounds like a pebble instead of a water droplet.  
He'll know the minute Poison is back. And then, Destroya willing, Poison will die.

Chapter 3

~*/Poison\\*~

It is a relief to be back in the sky. Zheir territory is rolling uninterrupted down below. This has beenzheir life since Destroya created zhem. It has been interesting, spending the last night considering a life where zhey might have someone to go share zheir life with.

But it has also been disconcerting. After zheir relationship with Korse went down in flames, zhey have always assumed that Destroya wouldn't give zhem a second chance at finding a life partner.

Now that zhey might have a chance at it, well, it feels almost unreal.

Poison is so deep in zheir head that zhey fail to notice Kobra flagging them down from the border of zheir territories — at least until Kobra flies up and knocks zhem off course, sending both of them spiraling down towards the sand. It's an old trick that Kobra has enjoyed playing on Poison since they were both newly hatched. They both get their wings back under them before they crash and sand-burn in any uncomfortable places. 

"Seriously, Kobra!" 

Kobra's smile stretches acrosshis face revealing all ofhis pointy teeth. "You're just too easy sometimes."

Poison brushes sand off of zheir wings while giving Kobra a dirty look. Like most hatch-mates, Kobra is a pain in the feathers. Meaninghe doesn't get the hint and shut his beak.

"So what's got your feathers all in a twist? You usually don't fall for that trick so easily."

Poison shrugs, his wings fluttering. "It's complicated."

Getting in close to Poison, Kobra giveszhem a narrow-eyed look. "Did Korse attack your nest?"

"No. It's complicated." Poison shrugs. "There was a battle between Runners and City scouts yesterday...and when I went to give the Runners their final respects, one of them was still alive."

Kobra's usually stoic face lights up. "An avatar!"

"I don't know for sure if he is an Avatar." It is impossible to fully state all of the possible outcomes.

"Do you want me to come back to the nest with you? I have more experience with Avatars."

True, and it is a tempting offer. Still, Ghoul isn't dealing well with just being in Poison's presence — as was proven when Poison had to finishzheir dinner out in the middle of the desert. "You might want to give it a day or two. And bring Phoenix with you." Hopefully having another human who is familiar with Eaters will help Ghoul settle in.

Kobra nods, zheir blond hair bobbing along with the motion. "Sounds like a good plan."

Poison reaches out and enfolds Kobra in zheir wings. "Be safe."

"You too." Kobra lets Poison shelter zhem for a few minutes before pushing away and taking to the air. In typical fashion, zhey turns a few lazy circles as zhey makes zheir way to hover height

Poison watches until zhey can only see the shadow of Kobra's wings. Sometimes zhey wish that zhey and zheir hatch-mates hadn't been separated when zhey came of age. It is lonely guarding zheir part of the desert.

Maybe it will be all right if zhey cut patrol short today. Going back to the nest and seeing Ghoul sounded like a good idea. After all, Ghoul might need some help. It is a pathetically obvious excuse, but it isn't as if Poison needs to convince anybody else of zheir logic. 

A short while later zhey are spiraling down to land on a narrow ledge in front of the caves beneath zheir nest. "Ghoul?"

There isn't any reply. Can something have happened in the hours since Poison left? Zhey carefully make zheir way deeper into the damp darkness of the caves with zheir ears pricked and zheir eyes sweeping the area for any signs of a fight.

Poison can't see or hear anything suspicious. It just ratchets up zheir sense of doom. Something bad is coming; zhey can feel it all the way down to zheir core, where zhey feel Destroya's calling. 

~*/Ghoul\\*~

Ghoul hears Poison yelling for him, but he doesn't answer. The knife hilt digs into his palms. Things are going to get nasty. He still has time to back down, to go meet Poison and forget about trying to take on a Goddess-blessed creature with claws and eight foot tall wings.

But the image of those empty-eyed skulls is burned into the back of Ghoul's mind, making it impossible to make a decision-based purely on self-preservation. Ghoul's hand spasms around the knife hilt until it feels as if the metal is going to merge into his skin. He's not going to back down. Every bit of his attention goes to the sounds coming from the narrow passageway. Poison calls for him again, then there is the hollow echo of footsteps and the brush of feathers against the stone walls.

Ghoul stands up and moves as quietly as he can, barely daring to lift his feet. Pressing his back to the wall right next to where the passageway empties out into the larger cavern that contains the still pool, he waits.

The echoing footsteps come closer. Ghoul closes his eyes and forces himself to breathe. Poison steps out into the cavern. Instinct makes Ghoul want to strike now, while he is still feeling brave.

He forces himself to wait until Poison has stepped past him and Ghoul has a clear view of the space between zheir wings. As long as Ghoul can hit that spot, Poison won't be able to catch him with zheir wicked looking claws.

Or zheir teeth. 

Another deep breath, and then he springs forward. His booted foot scuffs against the sandy ground. Poison turns, faster than Ghoul guessed he could. Ghoul's knife goes into Poison's wing instead of zheir back.

A gush of blood flies through the air. The shock of it makes Ghoul jump back and away — not that Poison makes any move to come after him. Zhey shriek instead; a high, screeching sound that echoes through the cave and seems to burrow into Ghoul's bones.

The stand there in stunned silence for a few breaths after the sound peters out. In the dim light Poison's eyes glow. Ghoul feels a creeping fear. Licking his lips nervously, he doesn't notice the taste of copper at first. 

When he does, it sends another shiver rocketing through his frame.

Poison reaches for him, claws out. But Ghoul doesn't feel threatened or afraid. Then he does feel afraid because he should be terrified. He just attacked an Eater and zhey're reaching for him. That should be enough to power panic and make him lash out only there it feels like there is another force pounding inside his brain. Saying: You're safe, this is right.

Poison moves slowly, but zhe doesn't stop coming towards Ghoul, who still can't work up the proper amount of panic. He lashes out, not necessarily to wound, but to get Poison to back off. Then he runs, tearing down the narrow pathway. He's so panicked that he doesn't remember to slow down once he reaches the end of the tunnel. He barely stops in time to keep from tumbling off the edge. His toes hang out over a long drop.

The presence is still inside his head, keeping him calm whether he wants to be or not. He hears footsteps behind him, the brush of feathers against stone.

Poison is coming for him. Ghoul turns. He can see the glow of Poison's eyes out of the corner of his eye. The presence is telling him to stay still and let Poison help him.

Ghoul jumps. Whatever is going on, he's not going to let some crazy voice in his head tell him what to do. The wind rushes around him, drowning out sound. The desert sands rush towards him. He's going to die. He closes his eyes and waits for the pain when he lands.

It doesn't come. There is the flutter of wings. A body impacts against Ghoul's. Arms wrap around his chest. 

When the crash comes, it doesn't hurt as much as he expects. His eyes flutter open, and all he sees is feathers. Poison broke his fall, but with a damaged wing zhey hadn't been able to catch them.

Shifting Ghoul sees Poison's face. Zheir eyes are closed, and zheir not reacting to Ghoul's movements. Shit! What is he supposed to do now?

He's alive, but he's in the middle of the desert with an unconscious Bone Eater and no way to get to safety. He can run for the clan now, but can he leave Poison here, unable to defend zheirself after he saved Ghoul's life?

Zhey are still an Eater, responsible for all of the skeletons that are entombed in the caves above Ghoul's head. And there is still that strange presence in Ghoul's brain, though it is silent now. 

He can go, say this is justice, the same as if he'd managed to kill Poison in the caves. Only if he does that, he's going to have to kill Poison in cold blood.

He sees the knife a few feet away. Desert justice says you don't leave anyone to suffer of dehydration when you can give them a clean death. But Poison has saved his life twice now. He can't do it. 

"Damn it!" he spits out. Now he's going to have to figure out some way to keep Poison alive until zhey're healed, which means putting off any attempts to get back to his clan. His attempts to kill Poison have only made the pain in his gut worse. He has no doubt he's pulled open his wound again, which means he can't carry Poison anywhere. And there is no way he can drag zhem however many miles it takes to reach home.

He eyes Poison and then the outcropping rocks that towers high overhead. It's afternoon, and for now the rocks are providing enough shelter to keep the worst of the sun off, but tomorrow the sun will come up, and they'll get baked alive if Ghoul can't come up with some shelter. So that's going to be his next step, searching the surrounding area for building supplies, water, and food.

 

Chapter 4

~*/Poison\\*~

Poison wakes up groggy and in pain. Zheir wing is stiff and barely moves. Cracking an eye open zhey try to figure out what is wrong with it. It is wrapped in bandages that are made out of what zhey suspect is Ghoul's shirt.

Dried out desert scrub is laid out in a loose lattice above zheir head, and zhey are leaning back against a piled of sand that creates a low wall at zheir back and side. The rocky cliff of zheir nest is on his other side. 

Looking around, zhey spots Ghoul's back in silhouette against a campfire. "What happened?" Zhey croak out. The last thing zhey remember is hurtling through the air, wings flapping uselessly.

"You managed to break my fall and mess up you wing like a complete camel-brain," Ghoul replies. 

That sounds about right, and given that the last thing Poison remembers is Ghoul trying to kill zhem and then himself, and Poison can't think of anything that zhey feels safe saying. So zhey keep zheir mouth shut and wait to see what Ghoul will do next.

Which is, apparently, to bring zhem water in a shallow, indented rock. "Drink. You've been out for hours."

"Thanks."

Despite the water, Ghoul doesn't seem to have moved completely past whatever had caused him to attack Poison. He leaves Poison to go back to the fire. 

Poison would try to follow, but zhey're exhausted. Sleep sounds a lot more tempting than trying to navigate whatever twists and turns are going on in Ghoul's head. Zhey don't know why Ghoul didn't just leave them for dead, and zhey don't want to risk changing his mind.

~*/Ghoul\\*~

Ghoul uses a spiral pattern to search the desert surrounding the outcropping of rocks. Unfortunately, there aren't any other outcroppings or landmarks to help him figure out where he is. He could see the faint glow of the city on the eastern horizon during the night, but that was only enough to tell him that he is in the same general area as where he and his team were ambushed.

He can start heading north and eventually get back to his clan. But it will take days and except for the still pool in Poison's caves, and the little trickles that come out near the base of the outcropping, Ghoul hasn't found any other sources of water. And days away from his home clan and with no way to carry water, wandering out into the desert is a death sentence, which doesn't make him feel any better about his chances of getting away from Poison. He might be free of the caves and able to run, but that's not going to do him much good if he doesn't have anywhere he can run to.

The sun is close to being directly overhead. It's time for Ghoul to head back towards the make-shift shelter. Approaching the shelter from the far side of the rock, he doesn't notice anything different at first. Then he sees a pair of black and white speckled wings, and no sign of the bandage he'd spent most of an hour getting to stick to Poison's wings. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouts, anger loosening his tongue more than is wise—particularly  
The wings shift to reveal a completely different Eater. This one's hair is styled in a slightly more restrained manner and died a bright orangey yellow. While their face is similar to Poison's and they share the same freakishly pale skin, their expression is even more forbidding than Poison's a feat that Ghoul would have thought was impossible, had he spared the time to think about it.

The strange pressure in his head is back for the first time since he and Poison plummeted from the cliff. He can't parse what it's trying to tell him to do now, but it makes him feel sluggish and ill-prepared to fight back.

Thankfully he can force the feeling away, even though it makes a fine shiver run through his whole body. Dropping the lizard carcass he's holding, he reaches for the knife tucked into the back of his pants. If he's going to die for attacking an Eater, he might as well die for attacking two.

The Eater doesn't move. Except for the wind ruffling their feathers, they might as well be a statue. The lack of action just makes the pressure in Ghoul's head worse.

It was easier to push back when he was on an adrenaline rush. The waiting makes his shaking worse, until it is hard to keep the knife steady.

The Eater shift and Ghoul tenses, waiting for them to move. Instead, a second figure comes out of the shelter. A red and orange mask covers most of their face, and they are dressed in loose, colorful robes. They look every bit the typical runner. Strange to find them here. They pull their mask down to reveal a delicately boned face, with a long straight nose and black hair hanging loose over their forehead. They held out their hands, open palms facing up. "You must be Ghoul. I'm Phoenix, fae, faer, and faers," With one hand fae gestured to the unknown Eater. "This is Kobra, my partner. He prefers he, him and his pronouns."

Ghoul nodded. Polite conversation calls for him to introduce himself. But given that they already know his name, while he still doesn't even know what they're doing here, means he's not feeling too polite. 

"When did you arrive?"

"Oh," Phoenix cast a look in Kobra's direction. "I thought Poison had let you know that we were coming today. Zhey told Kobra they thought you would feel a little more comfortable if you were able to speak with another Runner."

Ghoul felt his face twitch. Of course, Poison would somehow make sure Ghoul couldn't escape. Though who knew how zhey'd been able to plan for Ghoul's attack. Still, the pressure in Ghoul's head is only getting worse. And two against one isn't good odds. Shoving the knife into his pants, he picks the dead lizard backup. "So who wants dinner?"

 

Chapter 5

~*/Poison\\*~

Poison' wakes up to the smell of cooking lizard and the sound of tuneless whistling that only Kobra can seem to pull off. Zheir eyes are crusty and even pushing zhemselves upright is enough to cause a spat of dry coughs. 

A water-skin is pushed into zheir hands. He gulps the cool liquid down greedily without paying attention to his surroundings. It isn't until the water is tugged out of reach that zhey realize something is amiss.

The last time zhey were awake, Ghoul had been using a rock to catch what little water managed to trickle out of the underground spring, down the side of Poison's nest, to where Ghoul had set up their shelter.

Forcing zhemselves to stay conscious, Poison notices that the person holding the water, isn't Ghoul at all. The dim light and fae's dark hair make it an easy mistake to make. But on closer inspection, Phoenix' clothes are shades of brown and tan, rather than the grey's Ghoul's clan uses. "When did you get here?" 

Phoenix resettles before answering. "Kobra said you wanted me to come meet the Runner you'd found. So we flew out here this morning. Only to find your nest abandoned. Then it was just a matter of finding this," Fae looked around the low walled shelter. "Place. Kobra says you did a number to your bones, but that there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage."

"Why doesn't he tell me that himself?" Poison asks. Zhey'd asked zheir brother to bring Phoenix here to put Ghoul at ease. Not to stalk Ghoul.

Phoenix shrugs. "Well, since he apparently attacked you during the night, Kobra didn't feel comfortable letting me stay out with Ghoul without supervision. And we didn't want you to wake up alone... So."

"So Kobra had stayed with Ghoul instead. "You could have both stayed with me. I don't want to freak Ghoul out any more than I already have."

Phoenix raises an eyebrow. "Do I want to know why he's scared of you?"

Poison doesn't want to have to explain about Ghoul's reaction to seeing him eat a scout. It is sweet, how kind hearted Ghoul is, but Poison is aware that being kind-hearted isn't usually seen as a virtue among Runners. "It's private." 

Instead of waiting to hear Phoenix's reply, Poison starts working on levering zheir body upright. So zhey can go outside and make sure Ghoul and Kobra haven’t killed each other.

A hand lands on zheir shoulder holding zhem still. "I thought you should know. I'm pretty sure that whatever happened last night effected Ghoul. Is it possible he drank some of your blood?"

Poison almost dismisses the question out of hand. Ghoul wouldn't have drunk his blood. Not when he is still so freaked out by seeing Poison feed. Only, he tries to think back to the series of events that led to them both plummeting off the cliff. 

Zheir wing. In the cave, when Ghoul had first jumped at zhem. There had been a sharp pain in zheir wing. Poison twists around to get a good look at it. There is a bandage wrapped around the bony ridge of it. And zhey know from previous experience how badly wounds to zheir wing bleed. It is possible that between the fight and the fall some of his blood might have gotten onto, or into Ghoul's mouth. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"I know that a connection to Destorya is common place for you and Kobra. But I still remember what it was like after I first bonded with Kobra. Having her in my head was like fighting a battle with some internal force. I couldn't move right, for days and even weeks after."

Poison had only seen Phoenix once or twice during that period. And zheir memories of it are fuzzy at best. 

Phoenix continues. "He's acting the same way. Shaking, suddenly freezing during routine tasks. Was he acting like that when you first found him?"

Honestly Poison doesn't remember. Zhey hasn't really paid attention to how Ghoul moves. First he'd been unconscious. And then most of their other interactions had involved Ghoul attacking Poison is some fashion. "I'm not sure."

"Well, just keep it in mind." Phoenix wraps an arm around Poison's shoulders and helps him out of the shelter and to a seat near the campfire where Ghoul is cooking lizard with his shoulders hitched up almost all the way to his ears. Probably because Kobra is hovering to make sure he behaves.

After Poison is settled, Phoenix goes to cuddle with Kobra. Once Kobra is distracted, Ghoul relaxes somewhat. But his eyes still look hunted, skittering from where Phoenix and Kobra are cuddling, to where Poison is sitting. 

Poison feels bad, but zhey don't know what zhey can do to make Ghoul feel more comfortable. Honestly, they're not even sure why he didn't just leave zhem to die. Finally, zhey can't take the silence any longer, and even small talk has to be better than just sitting and listening to the sound of his brother making out with his partner. "Thank you for catching dinner."

Ghoul hunches forward, one shoulder moving slightly in a half-hearted shrug. "Phoenix said you invited them cause you thought meeting fae would help me feel better about being stuck here with you."

There didn't seem to be a question in that statement, but after a few minutes of Ghoul staying silent, Poison decided zhey had to say something. "Phoenix is a runner like you. It made sense that having them come to speak with you would help you get over your fear of me."  
Jerking upright, Ghoul starts pacing violently around the side of the fire farthest from Poison. "I'm not fucking afraid of you. I'm pissed. What am I supposed just to get over the fact that you eat people? It's all just fine and dandy because you got me a little human friend to talk to? Destorya bless, could you get any more patronizing?"

Poison clacks zheir jaw, in an effort to keep from snapping at Ghoul. Zhey had just been trying to help. Why is it that no matter what they do it only seems to piss Ghoul off more? Destroya had woven their destinies together. It should not be this hard.

And what are zhey supposed to do now? Zheir claws are itching to come out. Normally when zhey feel like this fly away. Take a break. Their wing is still wrapped in bandages, which makes that option impossible.

Thankfully, Ghoul takes the decision away from zhem, by marching off into the desert. Taking a path that goes around the far side of Poison's nest. Soon he is completely blocked from Poison's sight. 

Phoenix comes over and flips the half-cooked lizard. "I'll go talk to them. You and Kobra do your best to keep dinner from being ruined before I come back." Fae follows the same path that Ghoul took.

Kobra and Poison are left alone with each other. Kobra seemingly takes it all in stride. Which is typical. Poison can't remember the last time zheir little brother was shocked by anything. Zhey suspect it was when he and Phoenix were first getting together.

Kobra sits down in the sand next to Poison and wraps a wing around him. Arm wrapping around his waist. "Don't worry. This sort of thing is hard on everybody at first. You'll get used to each other eventually."

Zheir too comfortable to bother arguing that it doesn't seem like zhey and Ghoul will ever be able to make this work. When Kobra and Phoenix got together, they'd fought but never like this. Still, Poison is tired, and it is easier to burrow into Kobra's warmth than it is to explain how Kobra is completely wrong about things working out for the best.

Poison is cursed. He should have learned his lesson after the mess with Korse, and just dropped Ghoul off with one of the other runner clans.

~*/Ghoul\\*~  
Ghoul marches away from the campfire, into the quickly darkening desert. The bugs are starting to sing and the golden sand has darkened down to a grayish-tan that matches Ghouls' clan robes nearly seamlessly.

This is the time of day that Ghoul loves most. When the desert is cool and almost welcoming, the wind tinged with the smell of night blooming flowers. It's usually the perfect thing to calm him down when he's had a bad day.

Too bad it's not doing much to touch his current feelings of rage. He's just so pissed. Surely it can't be so fucking hard for Poison to understand how creepy he is being. Not to mention the pressure in his head which is making everything feel so much worse.

At least it hasn't been influencing him like before, but it's ever present. Like it's just waiting for him to slip up, and then it's going to spring back into action.

Between the presence in his head and the fact that he's got no way out of the mess with Poison, Ghoul feels boxed in at every turn. Barely able to breath without worrying that something else is going to go wrong. That's not even going into the grief he's still pushing into the back corner of his mind.

Even if he does escape and reach his clan, how can he explain why he's alive while his clan-mates got turned into Eater-food?

Maybe he should accept that he's going to spend the rest of his probably short life stuck in this strange little patch of desert waiting for Poison to decide to kill him.

There is the muted shushing of someone walking up behind him. Ghoul tenses, expecting to have a clawed hand clamp down on his shoulder at any second. Instead, Phoenix comes to stand beside him. 

So far fae doesn't seem like a bad person despite faer weird relationship with Kobra. In fact, Ghoul thinks they might have even been friends if they'd met in different circumstances. That possibility doesn't keep Ghoul from lashing out. "So what? You want me to go make up with Poison and pretend zhey aren't keeping me here against my will?"

Phoenix eyes him out of the corner of faer eye. "No. You're right to be pissed. But you have to realize that there are things going on that you don't understand."

"Like what?" Ghoul snaps back."

Phoenix continues like fae didn't hear Ghoul. "It's not your fault. Kobra and Poison are both shit at communicating verbally. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that a large portion of their communication skills is either based around wing movements or mental connections."

"Mental Connections." Ghoul mouths. Feeling the word out.

"Believe me, I still vividly recall the cluster fuck when Kobra started courting me." Despite faer tone that suggested all kinds of awful things, fae still smiles fondly.

It honestly freaks Ghoul out. "So what is it that they're not telling me?"

"Did you happen to drink some of Poison's blood?" Phoenix asks instead of answering.

The non-sequester throws Ghoul's whole train of thought. "What kind of freak do you think I am? Poison is the one who eats people."

Phoenix turns so that they're eye to eye. "I didn't mean intentionally. And drinking probably was the wrong term. When he got hurt, is it possible that you accidentally swallowed some of his blood. Or that some of it might have gotten into one of your wounds?

Despite what Phoenix seems to think, the more in-depth explanation of what faer asking doesn't make Ghoul feel better. He's about to start explaining -- again -- that he doesn't go around ingesting other people's blood when the visceral memory of Poison's blood is splattering his face, and the taste of copper comes back to him. Oh shit. "Why do you ask?"

Despite Ghoul's attempt to sound casual, Phoenix takes the question as confirmation. "You've been feeling something weird going on in your brain, right?"

Ghoul nods without thinking. Too stunned by the fact that Phoenix knows about whatever has gone wrong in his head.

"It's a side-effect of sharing blood with a Bone-eater. They're Destroya's guardians and have some mental connection to her. Drink their blood, or accidentally get it into your wound and wham." Phoenix slapped a fist against the open palm of faer other hand. "You've got a connection to Destroya herself."

"That's blasphemy." Nobody can understand Destorya's will. It just isn't possible.

"It's also the truth, and unfortunately no matter what your and Poison's problems are, there is no getting around the fact that you're one of Destroya's Avatars now. 

And their conversation just keeps getting weirder. "Avatar?"

"Finding a human capable of hearing and directly following one of her commands is a big deal."

"I just want to go home." Ghoul says. All of this just sounds too crazy. He expects Phoenix to tell him that he can't go home. 

Instead, fae just sighs and looks at him with big, wet eyes. "I'll talk to Poison about letting you go back to your camp." Fae turns and heads back towards the camp-fire, calling over faer shoulder. "But you've got to realize that even if you go back, that doesn't mean you can avoid dealing with this forever. Destroya is possessive. Now that she's got a direct line into your thoughts, she's not going to let you go without paying some price."

That prediction sent a chill up Ghoul's spine. But he pushes it aside just like his grief and the pressure that is still pounding away in his head. Phoenix must not know what fae's talking about. It can't be Destroya in his head.

It's probably just Poison trying to influence him. Ghoul isn't going to fall for it. The sooner he gets away from Poison and can put this whole experience behind him, the sooner everything will get back to normal. 

Chapter 6

~*/Poison\\*~

Phoenix comes back to the fire alone. Faer face is twisted into a frown and their hands are twisting nervously together. Kobra lifts the wing that isn't wrapped around Poison in an obvious offer.  
Phoenix just rolls faer eyes. A knowing smirk tugs at the corner of faer mouth. "I should have known you two couldn't be trusted to keep an eye on things." Reaching towards the edge of the fire, fae pulls out the stick that Ghoul had been using to roast the lizard.

A lizard that is now partially blackened. 

Poison ducks his head, embarrassed. Zhey've never been good at remembering things like how long food is supposed to cook or how much time has passed. "Sorry, Phoenix."

"It's not like I'm the one who caught the thing. I would suggest apologizing when Ghoul gets back."

Poison perks up, brushing Kobra's wing aside to get a better look at Phoenix. "Ghoul is coming back?"

"Don't get to excite. He's coming back because he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Did you even bother to explain why you were keeping him here? Or where here is?"

Honestly, Poison hadn't thought about it. 

Phoenix sighs before burrowing into Kobra's other side. Kobra wraps faer up in his wing. "I don't know why I asked. I'd already guessed the answer. He's freaked out and angry because he doesn't know where he is, why he's here, or why you won't let him leave. What did you expect? He'd just be happy that you kidnapped him?"

"I saved him."

Poison can't see Phoenix's expression since fae has faer face jammed up against Kobra's side. That doesn't mean zhey can't hear the sarcasm in faer voice. "From what? Being dropped off with a runner clan where he could get medical treatment and deal with the fact that he survived when his friends didn't?"

Poison shifts away from Kobra's warmth. Zhey don't want to be that close to Phoenix right now. Not when faer accusations bring up the same nagging feeling of being unable to get anything right. "Destroya gave him to me. I just don't want to be alone anymore."

Phoenix pulls away from Kobra as well and gives Poison a hug. "I know you mean well, and I'm sorry this came off so harsh. I just need you to realize that's Ghoul is hurting right now. He accidentally came into contact with your blood while you were injured. Which means in addition to everything else, and he's also started to hear Destroya."

"That's wonderful!" Phoenix starts to smile.

Phoenix slaps him. Not hard enough to hurt him, but plenty hard enough to get his attention. "No. It's not. She's a lot to handle even if you know it's coming. He didn't sign up to have the voice of a god streaming through his brain. It's too much on top of everything else."

"But once he starts understanding her, then he won't want to leave."

"Or he'll go," Kobra says. The first thing he's said all night. It grabs Poison's full attention. Usually something terrible has to happen to get Kobra to talk.

"You don't think that's likely, do you?"

Kobra shrugs, already going to back to his usual stoic behavior.

Phoenix makes up for it. "It's possible. Which is why you're going to let Ghoul go back home."

"But --" Poison starts.

Phoenix slashes faer hand through the air. "No. This isn't up for negotiations. Kobra and I can stay a few days, and arrange for Ghoul to stay with you until you're healed enough to start flying patrol again. But as soon as that happens, you're going to help Ghoul go home. No excuses."

"But Destorya wants us to stay together!"

"Then she'll find a way to get him to come back to you." Phoenix counters. Before turning back to the fire. "Now, who wants to see how much of this lizard we can salvage?"

Poison opens zheir mouth, planning to keep arguing. Only to stop with Kobra catches zheir eye. The look he's giving Poison makes it clear that the argument is over.

And Poison is in no condition to get into a physical fight with Kobra, so he listens and goes back to sulking at the fire. Zhey'll just have to wait and talk to Ghoul later. If Ghoul tells Phoenix that he wants to stay, then there isn't much that Kobra can do to him.

~*/Ghoul\\*~

Ghoul waits as long as he can before head back towards the fire. But the desert is getting dark fast. And he still doesn't feel comfortable with staying out in a strange area after dark.

All he can tell when he heads back to the fire is that Either Poison or Kobra is waiting for him. The silhouette of a pair of eight foot wings was hard to miss. He'd been hoping for Phoenix, but he supposed it would have been to hoping for that he could avoid dealing with somebody who actually seemed to understand what Ghoul was dealing with.

When he gets close enough. He can see the bandage wrapped around Poison's wing. Poison's hand shoots out, holding a flat rock with a small pile of lizard meat.

"Is this all that's left?" He'd expected there to be more. 

Poison twitches and ducks. "It got a little burned."

How did they manage to burn, no he probably doesn't want to know. Ghoul stuffs the meat into his mouth instead of asking. Despite the fact there isn't much of it, it is at least edible. 

"Phoenix said you wanted to go back to your camp." 

Ghoul slows his chewing down, to buy some time to think. There doesn't seem to be any reason to lie. "I don't want to stay here."

"Why not? Destroya wants us to be together."

Clenching his hand around the rock he's eating off of, Ghoul forces himself to stay still. He wants to throw a rock at zheir head. 

"I'm not staying here. I don't care what Destroya wants. Her runners have free will. If she honestly expected me just to go along with things, she wouldn't have given me the ability to choose."

"It's different!" Poison yells, feathers ruffling. "You're one of us now. The guardians were made to uphold her will."

Ghoul snorts and throws the last pieces of his food into the fire. "Then she shouldn't have tried to force me to become one of you guardians. I don't do what I'm told." He'd seen a nice little rocky shelf a few yards up from the ground on the far side of Poison's nest.

He hadn't wanted to risk climbing and pulling his partially healed wound, but given the fact that if he stays here he's going to start screaming. And he can't risk attacking Poison and loosing Phoenix's support. Not when this is the first time it's actually looked like he has a chance of getting home.

Chapter 7

~*/Poison\\*~

Poison watches Ghoul stalk off. Zhey hadn't expected that.

"You could have handled that better." Phoenix's voice comes from behind zhem.

"I thought you and Kobra had gone to sleep."

Phoenix circles around to the other side of the fire. "Kobra's asleep. I just wanted to give you a chance to settle things with Ghoul. Obviously I should have known better."

"He was blaspheming against Destroya. How was I supposed to act?"

"Guardians." Phoenix sighs. "You all think the same way. Sometimes I have to wonder how you survive. Destroya gives you Avatars for a reason, Poison. She wants the chaos we can bring."

Poison's mouth fell open a soft shriek coming out. "But.."

" I'll help you sort things out in the morning. For now come to bed." Phoenix helps Poison douse the file, before dragging zhem to the shelter that Ghoul had set up. 

Between Kobra and Poison's wings the space is cramped, and they end up cuddled tightly together, with Poison's wings sticking partially outside. 

Phoenix seemingly falls asleep within the first few minutes, but Poison isn't as lucky. This is all so confusing, and zhey'd assumed that if zhey ever got assigned an Avatar everything would just work out. 

Zhey still remember Korse's fairytale romance with his Avatar. Within days Korse had gone from being Poison's friend and occasional lover, to not caring about anything or anyone outside of his Avatar.

Poison knew that Phoenix and Kobra's relationship hadn't been so straightforward, but that hadn't dampened zheir dreams of having the same kind of a perfect relationship that Korse had gained. Only without the blasphemy that had led to the death of Korse's avatar.

Instead, it seemed like zhey were going to have to fight Ghoul to get any chance to spend time together. And to make sure that they don't commit any acts of blasphemy that will end up killing either of them.

~*/Ghoul\\*~

Ghoul wakes up to somebody chucking pebbles at his back. He rolls over to glare. Kobra is hovering in front of Ghoul's rocky shelf. "What do you want?"

He's not sure why he's asking. It's not like he's heard Kobra say anything since he and Phoenix arrived. He almost rolls straight over the edge, when Kobra replies.

"Phoenix wants to set things up between you and Poison before we go home." 

Groaning, Ghoul stretches, flinching when the wound on his abdomen pulls. "I don't think you want me to be around Poison right now. Not unless you want me to try and pound his head in."

Kobra smirks.

It's enough to send a shiver straight down Ghoul's spine. Admittedly he'd only known Kobra for a couple hours, but he'd thought he'd gotten pretty good read on the guy. He didn't seem like the kind of person to start grinning when somebody threatened to bash his brother's head in. "What the hells wrong with you."

Kobra motions him to shift over and actually lands next to Ghoul. "Phoenix is my opposite. Fae can say the things I can't, do what I won't. He came close to killing me when we first met."

"So?"

Kobra leans back until he's staring up into the cloudless sky. Though Ghoul suspects, that isn't what he's seeing. "You didn't know Poison before he had his heart broken. He used to be a lot more like you. I'm looking forward to seeing him start acting that way again."

"What makes you think that's what's going to happen? I'm not staying here."

Kobra shrugs. "All the better. It's not helping him to stay this close to the city, waiting on Korse to somehow come back to Destroya."

"Why would the leader of Blind City ever want to bow to Destroya?"

"There is a prophecy. That a child will be born, that will be the living embodiment of all of Destroya's power. A living reset button on the whole of the desert. Korse thought it was his Avatar. Poison thinks it is a lie." Kobra stabbed his thumb at his chest. "Me and Phoenix think that the only way to server her is to keep moving forward. We both want Poison to move forward too."

"So what, you want me to make sure that he starts causing trouble or something. That's crazy."

Kobra spread his hands wide. "You're human. Tell me, do you remember when the city was started?"

"What?" Of course not.

"It happened over three generations ago. Poison has been stagnating for decades longer that you've been alive. Believe me even if it takes having you try to bash his head in, we're glad that there is a chance for things to change."

"You're all insane."

Kobra doesn't argue. He just holds out an arm for Ghoul to grab. He uses their connection to lower them both safely to the ground. Phoenix and Poison are waiting for them at the bottom of the outcropping. 

"Did you get everything taken care of?" Phoenix asks.

Kobra nods. His face is back to the stony look he was wearing all of yesterday. It almost makes Ghoul doubt that they even had a conversation at all.

Phoenix at least seems to know how to handle things. "Good, then we can go ahead and make arrangements to head back to our territory."

"I thought you said you'd stay a few days." Poison interrupts.

"We did, but things have changed."

"Like what?"

Phoenix doesn't bother to answer. "We're going to head out. Ghoul, we'd like it if you could take care of Poison until his wing his healed up enough to fly again. It should be about a week."

"And what do I get in return?"

"Poison will carry you back to your camp zhemselves."

"I wo--"

Kobra levels a glare at Poison that seems to be all it takes to get zhem to duck down and nod. Phoenix continues. 

"Then if Poison wants zhey can visit you and try to convince you to become zheir Avatar."

That is a lot fairer than Ghoul had been expecting. "So all we have to do is keep from killing each other for the next week."

"Exactly." 

Poison doesn't look happy with the compromise, but zhey haven't said anything yet. So Ghoul hurries and agrees. After all how hard can it be to keep Poison alive for one week.

Chapter 8

~*/Poison\\*~

It only takes six days for Poison to heal enough to fly them back up to zheir nest.

Poison agrees to take Ghoul home the next day after they patrol zheir territory one last time. Poison uses zheir time on patrol to try and come up with a way to keep Ghoul with zhem. Even though, Poison is zheir Avatar that doesn't mean that he necessarily feels the same need to stay with Poison that Phoenix feels with Kobra. Every Eater and Avatar has a slightly different relationship. 

Unfortunately with all of zheir attention on zheir inner worries zhey aren't paying enough attention to zheir surroundings. Nothing usually happens in the Northern section of zheir territory. 

Zhey aren't prepared for a barrage of rocks that hits them. Poison can dodge most of them, but one hits their still tender wing. Poison loses control and hurtles towards the sand. Zhey lands in a crumpled heap. 

Korse comes to stand over him. The sight of him is enough to freak Poison out. It is tradition among the Guardians to anoint their heads with the earth of their territory. Poisons are a dark red-orange. Kobra’s a yellowy orange. And back before he had converted to the city, Korse's mane had always been deep brown. From the rich earth that made up the oasis he had ruled over, before he’d helped plow it under to form the city. Now Korse is completely bald.

Poison hisses through his teeth. “Lizard! What are you doing this far into my territory?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you had an Avatar now?"

Honestly, Poison hasn't thought about it. Zhey probably should have. Even though he's betrayed Destroya, Korse is still one of her Guardians. He's still connected to her consciousness. 

"Why does it matter to you?" 

Korse crouches down until he's on eye level with Poison. "Because the appearance of an Avatar means the desert is about to change. You remember what happened to mine, don't you?" 

Of course, Poison did. Korse's Avatar had helped to drive out the raiders that had been attacking runner clans. He'd also died horribly. It drove Korse over the edge into madness. "I remember."

"Then does it surprise you that I'd take an interest?" 

"What do you think you can do, Korse? She's given him to me. It's not like you can steal him away."

Korse'ss laugh isn't kind. "I'm not going to have to take him from you Poison. He's going to come to me." His claws come out. They shine in the light. They flash leaving a set of scratches across Poison's cheek. 

Poison lashed out and managed to catch Korse's white coat with zheir claws. A bloom of blood appears on the white fabric, but it doesn't slow Korse down. 

Korse turns and walks away. The scouts that shot Poison down, follow. Leaving Poison stranded in the desert. Zhey stretch zheir wings until they felt strong enough to carry zhem.

The start of zheir flight goes okay, but soon zhey are weaving dangerously. The horizon line twists and spins in zheir vision. And soon, it takes all zheir concentration to keep zheir eyes open. 

Dung, that lizard fucking poisoned him. Korse must have dipped his claws in something truly toxic to be able to get to him this quickly. There were only a few lizards and spiders with poison strong enough to affect a Guardian. Even then it would have to be distilled before it could be this potent. 

Poison is going to be lucky to make it back to the nest before zhey collapse. In fact, zhey have to take multiple breaks before the nest is finally in sight. A final short flight brings them to the edge of the nest. Zheir wings give out. Zhey pull zhemselves the rest away over the edge to collapse in the shallow ravine that houses zheir home. The cooler air helps to clear zheir head a little from the heat that is building in zheir veins. "Ghoul!" Poison cries. Zheir voice comes out as little more than a wheeze. And even that leaves them panting. 

Panicking, Poison tries to come up with a way to get Ghoul's attention. Poison let out a screech. It is enough to send zhem into a grey-out. And Poison doesn't even realize that Ghoul has found zhem until zhey feel the cool press of his hands against their face. 

 

~*/Ghoul\\*~

Ghoul is working on re-weaving his mask, when he hears that eerie cry of Poison's. 

It jolts him out of his thoughts and sends him running to see what's wrong. Since the last time Poison made a sound like that, it was when Ghoul had slashed his wing.

The cry came from the other side of the ravine. By the time Ghoul reaches Poison, zhey're unconscious and laying in a heap. Ghoul rolls him on zheir back. There don't seem to be any reason for zhem to be unconscious.

The only wound on zhem is four parallel slashes on zheir cheek. Zheir shallow but don't seem to be scabbing up. 

Poison groans and zheir eyes flicker open. "Ghoul!"

"Hey, what's going on. You don't look well."

Poison uses Ghoul's shoulder to lever zhemself more or less upright. "I've been poisoned."

"What do I need to do?" Who the hell had the ability to poison an Eater.

"I need you to go to Kobra and get him to bring me the antidote." 

Ghoul nods.

Poison's claws dig into Ghoul's shoulders. "Make sure you avoid city scouts. Korse will be looking for you."

Well, Ghoul guesses that explain who could poison an Eater. "Will you be okay until I get back?"

Zhey start coughing hard enough to double zhem over. Zhey are gasping before zhey finish. 

Fucking hell, what is Ghoul supposed to do now? Dragging Poison over to the shadier part of the ravine. They're forced to stagger to a stop a few times when Poison's coughing comes close to knocking them over. Finally, Ghoul manages to get Poison propped up against the wall of the nest. Ghoul gathers all of the food he can get his hands on. Anything that is easy to eat without cooking he leaves in a pile next to Poison, along with a few skins of water. 

Another two skins of water and rest of the food goes in his bag. He makes his way to the edge of the cliff. He'd been happy to find a few coils of rope in Poison's nest, but he hadn't thought he would have to use them. 

He doesn't like repelling down cliffs, but it's not like he has much of a choice. If he stays here, Poison is going to die of poisoning while Ghouls starves to death. Anchoring the pulley into the rock, he threads the rope through it, so that one end is tied around his waist, with the other end held tightly in his other hand. 

Then it is a matter of keeping control as he slowly walks his way down the cliff-face.

He heads west towards Poison's territory. Once he gets a little further away from the nest, he'll use the map to find the safest path.

Only he doesn't get a chance. He's barely a half-mile from the nest when he rounds a dune and finds himself facing off against a legion of city scouts. Their weapons ready, like they've been waiting for him. Maybe he should have taken Poison's claims that Korse was going to be coming for him a little more seriously.  
The pressure in his head is back, pressuring him to surrender. Which isn't going to happen. Dropping his bag Ghoul dives for the nearest Scout. He gets their sword away from them and spins to meet the rest of the scouts. 

He gets one in the gut and manages to slash another scout's legs out from under them. Before one of them gets behind him and manages to pin his arms. It only takes a few more seconds before another one gets him by the legs. 

Then there isn't much that he can do to escape. Especially once they tie him up and toss a bag over his head. It smells of rotten fruit and makes it impossible to pick out more than the shadows of the scouts.

They must have brought horses along with them. A uselessly extravagant luxury typical of Blind city. Fucking hell, he'd forgotten how uncomfortable it is to ride on a horse when you can't brace yourself. And since one of the scouts has tossed him over their saddle, there is nothing to keep him from feeling every jolt and bump. 

And it's got to be almost four miles to the edge of the City. This is going to suck.

They take his hood off a little while after he starts hearing the sounds of people packed tightly together. The light blinds him for a moment, before his vision clears. To reveal the pale stone walls that surround the Korse'ss palace. The ornate metal gates swing open and then there are grass and plants at all sides. He can hear bubbling water from some out of the sight portion of the gardens that filled the entirety of the castle grounds. 

This is...impossible. What kind of being is Korse? To not only be able to injure and possibly kill a guardian but grow so much life in the middle of the desert. Ghoul has never heard of any Eater being able to do that.

One of the guards behind him uses the blunt end of their spear to poke him into continuing moving. Ghoul hadn’t even realized that the shock had rooted his feet to the walkway. He follows the guard in front of him through the needlessly complicated paths that wind through the garden. The green grass and plants that press in on either side of the path, leave Ghoul feeling off-center. The sound of running water doesn't help that feeling. 

Even when he was a kid living in Blind city, he doesn't think he ever saw a place that was this green or had water constantly running. It is all just too strange. Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to pass through the garden and enter the palace itself. It is made out of the same pale white-washed adobe that gives Blind City it's eerie pallor. The ceilings rise much higher overhead than any of the other buildings. A spiral staircase leads them up onto a second floor with equally tall ceilings. The hallway they marched through has walls that allow three people to stand abreast without knocking shoulders. Floor to ceiling windows make it feel very similar to Poison's nest.

A comparison that Ghoul would never have thought he could make when it came to a building in Blind city versus a Bone-Eater's home.

Finally, they reach a set of double doors that reach almost all the way to the ceiling. The guard in front motions to one of the ones that has been walking behind Ghoul. Together they push the doors open to reveal a huge, pale blue room. A throne with soaring spires at its back immediately draws Ghoul's attention. 

Though that might be because of the fact Korse is sitting on it. He's seen Blind City's ruler before. Korse rides through the city during holy days and celebrations. But Ghoul has never had his full attention before. Korse's black eyes bore into his head making him feel woozy and tense. "So you're the little runner Poison took pity on."

Since it's not a question, Ghoul keeps his mouth shut. It's easier than trying to work around the crawling feeling down his spine, that makes his throat feel thick and his tongue feel like its been glued to the roof of his mouth. If he'd thought the terror he'd felt when he first woke up in Poison's presence was bad, he'd obviously just not had enough to compare it to.

Korse stands and strides down the stairs that lead up to the throne's seat. His white robe shushes against the floor sounding suspiciously like the noise Poison's wings make when they brush up against the stone walls of zheir nest. 

It was suddenly very easy to believe Kobra's claims that Korse wasn't even human. His pales skin was stretched over bone cheeks. His face utterly unmoving like a statues. Maybe that's what is making Ghoul's sixth sense go haywire. Korse looks like a perfectly preserved corpse.

Striding forward Korse moves until his is standing bare inches from Ghoul, leaning down until their eyes are level. Ghoul gulps and tries to control his sudden urge to vomit. "Funny, you don't look like an Avatar to me."

Ghoul forces his tongue to unstick from the roof of his mouth. "Yeah well you don't look like an eater."

Korse backs away like Ghoul wanted but doesn't look like his taunt hit the mark. If anything it just seems to have pleased Korse more. He smiles just wide enough to reveal the edges of his teeth. Just as sharp as Poison's. "Good, you have some idea of what is going on. Then we can get down to business." 

Turning on his heel, Korse walks around the throne towards the back half of the room. Ghoul follows, and is surprised when they reach a intimate two-person table set out on a balcony that overlooks the gardens. Korse takes the seat on the far side. Leaving Ghoul with his back exposed to room and the guards who had taken up sentry positions by the door. 

Korse turns to contemplate the garden. Which gives Ghoul a chance to collect his thoughts. Though he doubts that's what Korse is waiting for. A delicately boned woman with straight black hair and the same statue-like expression as Korse appears carrying a tray of breakfast foods. Eggs, fried bread, and some dark beverage that smells spicy. 

She sets each of the plates down on the table with barely a sound. Finishing by placing a small vial of green liquid on Korse's side of the table. Backing up, she stays just in sight out of the corner of Ghoul's eye.

Korse digs into the food like it's perfectly normal to sit suspended over a lusciously green garden eating breakfast with someone he had kidnapped. Pausing between bites, Korse stares at Ghoul. "It's rude to leave food uneaten."

Ghoul forces himself to reach out and pick up one of the pieces of fried bread. His stomach is tied in knots, but he's not about to offend Korse over something as simple as refusing to eat. He manages to get most of the way through his bread, by the time Korse finishes his meal. Getting Ghoul to eat seems to have been enough to get Korse to back off. He motions for the dishes to be cleared, without waiting to see if Ghoul can actually finish the second piece of bread or egg on his plate.

The woman takes the plates away and carries them out the double doors that Ghoul entered through. As she passes the guards follow, closing the doors behind him. Leaving Ghoul alone with Korse. 

The echoing sound of the door's closing has barely died out before Korse starts talking. "Has she told you what she's planning yet?"

She most likely meant Destroya. "She doesn't talk to me."

Korse's laugh is like metal scratching across slate. The noise echoes through the throne loom, like it's a living thing. "Do you think I'm stupid. Poison starts patrolling zheir territory on a regular basis instead of hiding in that bone-yard zhey call a nest, and you expect me to believe that you're not an Avatar of Destroya's will."

Ghoul loses control. Today has sucked enough, without having to repeat the same fucking argument he's spent the last week rehashing with Poison. He slams his palms against the table-top. "What is with you Eaters? You act like I'm supposed to just do whatever Destroya wants. Have none of you heard of free-fucking-will?"

Korse's head cocks in a move that mimics Poison and Kobra. Like he's seen an interesting bit of prey and is considering what to do with it. "If you don't hear her, then how do you know who I mean?"

"Because I'm not stupid and Poison won't shut up about it. It's no wonder you two seem obsessed with each other. You sure think the same way."

Korse shows all his extremely sharp looking teeth. Ghoul can't tell if he's smiling or considering going for Ghoul's jugular. "Well then. It looks like things are about to get interesting. But I wonder how long you'll last before you give in to her."

"Never." Ghoul bites out.

"We'll see." Korse waits a beat, looking out at the garden. "I was planning to threaten you into getting Poison to start acting in accordance with the prophecy, but I somehow don't think that will be necessary."

"What makes you think that I care about any prophecy?"

Korse looks back at Ghoul. His eyes gleaming. "So you do know about the prophecy."

Well shit. This is why Ghoul usually tries to control his temper. It's much harder to figure out other people's emotions when he's upset himself. 

"Good. You're not going to try and deny it." Korse stands, walking around the table. He places the vial of green liquid in front of Ghoul. Bending down he whispers into Ghoul's ear. "Give that to Poison, and make sure that zhey don't go back to hiding in zheir little bolt hole. Or the next time I poison zhem I won't be so nice."

He stands back up, and sweeps towards the door. "Oh, and tell Poison that the girl is coming soon. Zhey'll know what to do."

Ghoul wants to spit and argue that he's nobody's messenger boy, but he's got a bottle of antidote in sitting in front of him. Even his conviction to keep from following Destroya's will isn't strong enough to make him leave Poison for dead. So he guesses he is a messenger boy. 

Korse pulls the doors open without any apparent effort leaving Ghoul alone with his thoughts. Since he isn't stupid enough to think he can leave the room without and escort Ghoul uses the chance to poke at the part of his brain that's been trying to influence him for the last week. A horrible image springs to life inside his head. The whole city burning, bodies piled high, and a pale childlike form standing over Korse's body.

He rushes to the edge of the balcony and empties his stomach. The bread burns as it comes back up. Wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, he tries to shake the visceral smell of blood and death that had come with the vision. He knows what he's going to do. The decision pops into his head fully formed, like he's subconsciously been planning it the from the very moment that Kobra told him the prophecy.

If the girl is coming, then Ghoul is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she is safe, happy, and never gets forced to become Destroya's pawn. All the lunatic Eaters might think that it's a foregone conclusion that Destorya is going to send someone to destroy Korse, but Ghoul refuses to buy it. His hand clenches around the vail, and he feels it creek. Forcing his hand open he tucks the antidote into the pocket he has sewn into the inside of his robe.  
First things first, he needs to get the antidote to Poison. Then he can work on getting the Eater to help him find the girl. Walking towards the throne room's doors, he looks around for a guard. 

The same dark haired woman from before is the only one standing in the hall. Typical. "So how do I get out of here?"

She motions for him to follow her, before turning and striding down the hall. Her movements so fast that Ghoul has to break into a jog to keep up. Turning down a series of hallways, she leads him further into the palace. Until she opens a door, and reveals a stable. Two guards are already mounted and a third horse is standing between them, saddle empty. Ghoul glances back and forth between the woman and the horses a few times trying to figure out why they'd risk him escaping.

Her face didn't give anything away and she didn't even twitch under his probing look. Giving it up on getting an answer Ghoul mounts the horse. The guards break into a canter and Ghoul's horse follows without any input from him. 

He expects to see the city after a few minutes, once they've left the stable. They enter a narrow, dimly lit tunnel instead. It takes half an hour before Ghoul seems a glimmer of sunlight up ahead. When they come out of the tunnel they are on the outside of the city gate. Only two miles from Ghoul's nest. 

The guards stop and Ghoul's horse does the same. The guard to his right says, "This is as far as we go." 

Well that was just peachy. The sun is nearing the western horizon. He's going to have to haul ass to reach Poison before dark. Side-eyeing the guards, Ghoul tries to figure out if it would be worth it to try and convince him to go a little further. Probably not. 

Dismounting, he was barely paying enough attention to catch the water-skin the guard tossed him, before it hit him in the head. Well at least some things didn't change just because he got dragged into some crazy prophecy. City guards were still dicks.

With a sigh he slings the water-skin over his shoulder and starts trudging through the sand.

Chapter 9

~*/Poison\\*~

Poison coughs zhemselves awake. Zhey don't know how long zhey've been asleep but zhey don't feel as dehydrated as they should. It should have taken two days for Ghoul to get Kobra. Looking around, zhey try to spot Kobra, but the only person zhey see is Ghoul. "What's going on?"

"I got you the antidote."

Groggy as zhey are it takes Poison a while to figure out what's wrong with that sentence. Ghoul didn't say Kobra had given him the antidote, or anything about Kobra at all. Adrenaline tries to jumpstart Poison's system, but zhey're still too sluggish to manage a vague sense of unease and the sudden urge to vomit. "How?"

"Korse." Ghoul spat. "I probably should have taken you more seriously when you said he'd be looking for me. Not that it would have done me any good. Seems he knew exactly what he was doing when he attacked you."

Should Poison apologize? Zhey hadn't meant for everything to spiral this far out of control when zhey'd brought Ghoul home. "What did he want?"

"Apparently he wants the same thing Kobra wants. For this prophecy to get kicked off."

"Why now?"

Ghoul carefully doesn't look in Poison's direction. “Destroya wants the city to burn, until nobody is left alive. As to why now? I guess she got tired of waiting for you to act, but who knows for sure."

"Still, it seems like something must be missing. Some reason for her to bring us together now. And for Korse to lash out when we've been ignoring each other for centuries." If only zheir head wasn't so scrambled maybe zhey could figure out what was going on. Years spent with Korse should make figuring out his motives easier.

"Yeah, about that. He wanted me to give you a message."

Poison levels his full attention on Ghoul. Who is still avoiding looking in his direction. "What is it?"

"He says the girl is coming."

Poison's world shifts. The girl is coming. Zhey're out of time. Korse is going to die and Poison is going to have to help. Zhey sway and have to sit down to keep from falling. Poison has been trying for centuries to avoid this. The fact that an Avatar just fell into zheir lap should have been enough of a warning. "We're all going to die." Zhey whisper.

Ghoul turns to meet zheir gaze for the first time since zhey woke up. There is a fire in the depths of his eyes. "What if we didn't have to?"

"I've tried avoiding this for centuries and you can see how well that has turned out."

"Then don't avoid it. Fight back, do what you want instead of giving in."

This again. "You can't fight Destroya."

Ghoul lets out a bark of laughter. "You just said you'd been fighting her for centuries, and now you're going to chicken out?"

I…Poison had never thought of hiding out here as fighting back. But still, if zhey had a chance to change destiny. "What do you want to do?"

"We'll keep our first agreement. You take me back to camp. Only you stay with me, and once we're there we start looking for the girl. Then once we find her, we find ourselves a nice little patch of land and start a farm or something. Live a nice simple life and avoid committing religious genocide."

"That’s -" Completely and utterly insane. And likely to blow up in their faces.

" So what do you say? I become your Avatar and you help me save the world? Sounds like a fair trade, right?"

Poison should say no. Should just act like this never happened. Go find the girl and start training her to fulfill her destiny. But - "Okay, let's do it?"

Having Ghoul smile so brilliantly at him almost makes the impending suicide worth it. "Great, then get some sleep. It's probably the last chance you're going to get. Because tomorrow, we start the revolution."

  
Epilogue

~*/The Girl\\*~

The Girl has been alone for days. Mommy went out to hung and never came back. She's prayed every night since to Destroya the Desert Goddess. If there has been any signs of what she's supposed to do, she hasn't seen them. She is always one step away from panic. Not sure whether she should stay in the small lean-too her mother set up for them, or if she should try and make it to Blind City.

Mommy always told her not to go anywhere near the city. It is where Runners go to die. But the Girl is hungry and only has another day's worth of water. If she doesn't go soon, she might not survive the trip. There is a flapping sound overhead. A bird maybe? Craning her neck she tries to see where it is coming from.  
There is a flash of darkness against the sun, and then two men drop out of the sky. One is extremely tall and pale, with ginormous wings that reach far over his head. The littler one is only a foot or so taller than she is.

The Girl is too surprised to run. She's never seen anyone with wings before. Even though the other man is dressed in Runner robes and a full-face mask she still isn't sure if she's awake or if she is delirious from lack of water.  
c  
The man with the green mask crouches down until they are at her level. Reaching up, they pull down their mask to reveal the same crazy smile Mommy always wore. His eyes sparkle. "Hi, sweetheart, me and Poison are going to take care of you for a while. Does that sound okay?"  
#  
And so It Goes


End file.
